AUSTIN, TX November 9, 2012– The Darrell K Royal Research Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease is extremely grateful for the outpouring of public interest seeking information on the DKR Fund, the upcoming March 27, 2013 fundraising event and wish to thank the generous individuals who have reached out the Royal family and the DKR Fund in the time since Coach Royal passed.
The Fund is committed to excellence in research and care for Texans, with the hope and goal of curing Alzheimer's Disease in our lifetimes. Additionally, the Fund plans to expand research into Mild Cognitive Impairment and to expand the paradigms of care and access for Texans. The hope is that, through this research, preventative and treatment strategies aimed at combatting the epidemic of AD will come to light.
Texas is uniquely situated to contribute cutting-edge AD research. The demographic distributions of Texans enable our scientists to study AD in populations of Texans, including those of Mexican American descent and those residing in rural communities.
The Fund serves as an organized vehicle to fund collaborative research information. It also positions Texas for the rapid acquisition and dissemination of research into its healthcare systems, environment and social support systems. In collaboration with the State, the Fund plans to address the finite resources and how to provide the highest quality patient care to those affected by AD.
In the same way the Fund is reaching out to positively affect change, Coach Royal had a way of touching the lives of people he knew.
“I was an unexposed kid with no sense of direction when I first came to Austin from Caldwell, Texas. After spending four years under Coach Royal’s capable wings, I left the University of Texas a more grounded and purpose-driven young man,” said Alfred Jackson, UT football alumni and 7 season NFL wide receiver with Atlanta Falcons.
“My grandmother died of Alzheimer’s, so I know firsthand the devastation the disease can have on a family. It is my hope that my association with the Darrell K Royal Research Fund for Alzheimer’s disease will help bring more educational awareness to a disease in desperate need of a cure,” Jackson said.
In her testimony before the Special Interim Joint Committee on Alzheimer’s Disease Mrs. Royal said, “ This private fund to advance Alzheimer’s research in Texas is an important legacy – as important as football – that we lend the strength of Darrell’s name to this incredible group of prominent Texans all of whom want to help in Darrell’s honor to fund research that will not only cure this awful disease but bring the scientific spotlight to Texas.”
Donations to the Darrell K Royal Research Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease can be made online by visiting the website www.dkrfund.org and clicking “Donate Now”, or by sending a check to: DKR Fund c/o The Dallas Foundation, 3963 Maple Avenue, Ste. 390, Dallas, TX, 75219.
Press contact:
Suzie Williford 866-946-3606
Selected members of the Board of Advisors will be available for comment or interview. Please contact Suzie Williford to arrange.
Board of Advisors
Austin: Hon. Greg Abbott, W.H. “Beau “ Armstrong, Lance Armstrong, Mack Brown, Ben Crenshaw, Eloise DeJoria, Frank Denius, Larry Gatlin, David Kazen, Margaret Krasovec, Ava Late, Laurée Moffett, Jim Bob Moffett, Matthew McConaughey, Willie Nelson
Dallas: Lisa Dawson, Angie Harmon, Rita Hortenstine, Mike Myers, Mack Rankin
Ft. Worth: Kit Moncrief
Houston: Melissa Edwards, Corby Robertson, Alfred Jackson, Joe Jamail
San Antonio: Red McCombs